


Don't Leave Me

by KazueEmiko



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Character Death, Dead Jeralt Reus Eisner, Divine Pulse Deaths (Fire Emblem), Divine Pulse Gone Wrong (Fire Emblem), F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28910742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KazueEmiko/pseuds/KazueEmiko
Summary: No matter how hard she tries, Byleth lost someone dear to her.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth, Jeralt Reus Eisner & My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 1
Kudos: 42





	Don't Leave Me

**Author's Note:**

> So, it's been a while since I last wrote for Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Decided to give it a swing again since I have a ton of unfinished OSs for Edeleth and... Byleth in general. Hope you enjoy it!

A weary soul by the name of Byleth Eisner did her best to save the ones she loved.

Jeralt.

Time and time again, she used the Divine Pulse to reverse time. Byleth’s mind became hazy, her vision swirling into the darkness, her limbs violently shaking.

She tried. She really did try.

Sweat spilled over her arched brows. Byleth used up the last of her strength for one last Divine Pulse. Her eyes scanned her surroundings. She had to try again. The professor ran as fast as she could through the rain. Her arms reeled back, the Sword of Creator steadily glowing and breaking its blade apart. Byleth snarled and swung with all her might.

Please, let the blade hit anything… anything to prevent the knife that tore deep into his back by Monica…!

A strong force slammed hard into her, forcing her into a complete stop. Immense pain twisted in her abdomen, spit flying out of her mouth. Her eyes went wide. Someone planted their foot squarely into her stomach.

Thales.

The man faintly smirked as Byleth was kicked back. She crashed on the ground, rolling through the wet grass. It took every effort to come to a complete stop. Byleth whipped her head up. Her vision faded in and out as a weak whine slipped out of her lips.

Jeralt’s body stiffened. The knife plunged deep into his back. Then, in a matter of seconds, crumpled to his knees, his head hanging. Byleth felt her breath stolen. Despite her still heart, her chest tightened as she scrambled back to her feet, leaving her sword on the ground.

“You will never save him,” Thales uttered. His arm stretched out to Monica. As the redhead came close to his cape, he glanced at the professor. His ghastly white eyes stared deep into hers with a smirk. “Try as you might, the pieces have all fallen into place.”

Byleth gritted her teeth. She ignored the dull throb pulsing throughout her bruised abdomen, her lacerated palm extended out in front. The teal-haired woman frowned.

She needs to use the Divine Pulse again! She had to… She had to…!

“BYLETH!”

A strong grip wrapped around her wrist. From the corner of her vision, Sothis floated nearby, her gaze full of sorrow. She shook her head, softly saying, “You can’t use it anymore.”

“…yes, I can.”

“No.” Sothis’s grip tightened. “It’s a futile attempt. Try as you might, you will only give yourself a migraine.”

“Yes… Yes, I can!” Byleth tore her hand away, her lower lip trembling. “I can save him! I—”

“Byleth! You can’t save him,” Sothis grabbed her wrist again. Her voice dipped into a whisper, “Please… I beg of you… You must stop…”

A loud crack resonated in Byleth’s head. She ceased her struggling, the glimmer that always featured with her firm gaze eroding away. The ex-mercenary took a step back and sharply inhaled. Slowly, she approached her father. Down on her knees, she scooped him into her arms, turning him around.

His eyes squeezed shut. Sweat glistened on his forehead as his shallow breaths puffed. Jeralt groaned and Byleth bit the bottom of her lip.

She failed again.

It was as if fate was toying with her…

As if Sothis was toying with her.

“Why…!”

Byleth lashed out at the petite woman, her fingers passing through Sothis’s somewhat transparent figure. She screamed at her. Bellowed. Roared at Sothis. The tears that she never thought would come to her fell endlessly today. Byleth swiped at Sothis again, only to no avail, and Sothis watched her host, staring with a heavy heart.

“Byleth…”

Jeralt’s voice was so faint, it was easily missed. But not to his daughter. Byleth adjusted her hold on him, the weight of his body leaning more into her arms. His eyelids struggled to stay lifted, yet his gaze never wavered at the sight of his little girl.

Rain poured overhead, but his eyes softened. As droplets fell upon his sunken cheeks, he raised his hand. The rough palm that held her as a child caressed her cheek. Byleth immediately rubbed into his hand, holding it close as her tears continued to fall.

“Dad…”

“Heh… haven’t heard you call me that in ages…” Jeralt faintly smiled, the sweat rolling off his face. “And to think that the first time I saw you cry… your tears would be for me…”

Even more tears dripped onto his face as Byleth watched Jeralt close his eyes. The man that raised her ever since she was a baby. A mercenary that treated her fairly and kept her well like any privileged child in Fodlan. A father who loved her dearly. Byleth firmly shut her eyes as Jeralt’s warmth faded from his hand.

“It’s sad… and yet… I’m happy for it.” His hand went slack. Byleth squeezed it as Jeralt smiled, his head turning to the side. “Thank you… Byleth.”

Then, he spoke no more. Jeralt, her father… her best friend… her loved one.

"Don't leave me..."

Byleth buried her face into his cold chest, the rain pouring down even harder on them, masking her sniffles.

"Please... don't leave me..." 

Byleth clawed the wet ground with one hand, mud rolling under her chipped nails, a silent cry for her father. His daughter eventually cried, her choked sobs coming at random intervals. She thought she understood what loss meant. She had lost many comrades before. Many mercenary friends from all sorts of deaths. But none of them ever rivaled this with Jeralt.

“Professor…”

A soft voice reached her ears. Byleth ignored it. She hugged her father tighter, hugging with all of her might.

“Professor.”

A gentle hand touched her shoulder. Byleth ignored it again. She felt her still heart crush under an immense weight, an agony like no other piercing and striking it.

“Byleth.”

Byleth peeled away from Jeralt. She lowered Jeralt down to the ground before turning to the source. The tears and snot so very unladylike to a teacher were on full display to the student she cherished and loved.

“El…” she croaked. When Edelgard, down on her knees, extended her arms towards her teacher, Byleth cautiously, like a scared dog, came close.

The warmth that was not present in Jeralt anymore instead came from Edelgard. Byleth, barely older than her student, reverted into her child-like state, huddling into Edelgard. The vermillion lord’s gaze softened as she embraced her older girlfriend. She rubbed Byleth’s trembling back, her hands pulling her even closer.

“I’m so sorry…” Edelgard muttered, softly kissing the side of her head. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you…”

Byleth sobbed even harder into her hold. The embrace that should have been her father’s… now, she only has Edelgard’s.

Edelgard continued to soothe her girlfriend, her lilac eyes slowly opening. Her gaze flickered to the scene where Thales and Monica disappeared. She frowned as the flames akin to fury lit behind her hues.

Even as the Flame Emperor… she had never… ever given them permission nor orders to kill the very person that Byleth cherished.

If anything, they will be punished, and the next time Edelgard sees them, she will kill them with her own hands.

“Byleth,” she called to her once more. “Let’s go back to the monastery. Jeralt requires a proper burial fit for his honor.”

Just as Edelgard began to stand up, she felt an iron grip grasp ahold of her wrist. She stared at her professor with wide eyes. Byleth, though her cries had died down, looked up with pained features.

“Don’t leave me…” she begged. “Not like dad.”

Edelgard narrowed her eyes. The path that Edelgard must walk… A bitter smile flashed across her face. She pulled Byleth up as the uprising Adrestian Emperor proclaimed,

“I won't.”

**Author's Note:**

> Totally not sorry for that ending.


End file.
